Thanksgiving

I can honestly say this is one of the best Thanksgivings we have ever had.  First of all, it was SO nice to have Steve around for 5 full days.  We have really been missing him a lot around here, and it's just not the same when he is gone.  Because this was going to be the first of many holidays that we will be spending without family, we decided we were in need of making sometraditions that we would do each year.  It is hard to start something new, but I am just taking baby steps.

So here is how the weekend played out.

Wednesday: Since Steve had to work most of the morning we did some organizing and straightening up around the house in the morning.  The boys played and I tried to keep them quiet while daddy was on conference calls.  Daddy ran out and did some last minute shopping while the boys took their naps and then we decided our pre-Turkey Day dinner should always be mexican food.  We went to eat and then hit Lowe's for a few things we wanted for Christmas decorations.  We decided last minute that since I won't let the boys hang ornaments on my tree, they should have their own fun tree.  Our is artificial, too, so they got to pick out their very own Christmas tree.  This is going to be a tradition, too, for the day before.  Now we just have lots of work to do to start getting fun ornaments for them.  

Thursday:  Steve left early and went and played in a Turkey bowl (a flag football game.)  The benefit of having boys, he had to take the kids, too.  I stayed home and made pumpkin muffins, our Thanksgiving day breakfast tradition, and brought a bunch for the men to have.  I watched them play for a while and then we all headed home to prepare the feast.  (side note: I was really impressed at how organized they looked and how well they all played.  They did pay the price the next day, because I heard of several that could hardly walk.  Ha,ha, they are getting old!)

I cooked almost all day, and that didn't include a turkey.  We aren't crazy about home cooked turkey, and it was just the 4 of us, so I picked up Honey Baked Ham.  I made stuffed celery,jello, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls ( a big flop!), and pies (lemon meringue and pecan).  Steve made some crunchy punch to drink, too.  I really enjoyed the cooking, it went pretty well, but I was really tired that night and had some seriously aching feet.  There was no stress, no one complained about anything, and everyone just had a great day.  I cooked mostly just for Steve and I since the boys didn't eat much, but I am impressed that Landon did try at least one bite of everything.  

That night we watched a Christmas movie (Fred Claus), which we will make a tradition, too.  We love "movie night"  where we get all our blankets out, pop popcorn and lay on the floor and watch a movie together. 

So in hindsight: the table was pretty pitiful.  No napkins, no decorations, no placemats, no table cloth, nothing special.  I would really like to work on making the table pretty next year.

Showering:  I would like to shower and get makeup on and feel put together before the dinner is served. Something about wet hair at the table, just felt wrong. I may have to prepare a little more next year.

Rolls:  Never let your hubby talk you into trying something you are sure is going to be a flop.  I tried to find a simple recipe, but in the end, I think I killed the yeast.  Oh well.  Again, no one made a big deal of it!  I will try a few recipes this year and hopefully get good at one.

Pies:  Pecan pie- note to self: don't bake pie crust first or have the recipe before you start.  My dad thought it would still be ok, but it definately wasn't.  It burned.  Oops!  Should have just made a new crust, but I guess that is what learning to bake pies is about.  Lemon Meringue:  needed a little more corn starch so it wasn't so runny, but it tasted awesome!

Friday:  We headed out to the mall.  We weren't out for any bargains, but we decided we would make this the day we did our Christmas Eve pajama shopping.  We also decided, that the boys could pick one small toy out ($20 or less) to start the season.  It helped to get them thinking about what they wanted for Christmas and gave them something to play with the rest of the weekend.  We got the Christmas decorations out and started putting things up. 

Saturday:  We got our tree up, but not decorated, we got the lights up outside, and we went to a friend to ride quads.  It was a super fun family day.  

Sunday: Church, naps, decorated our tree.  

We had lots of together time, lots of hot cocoa, and lots of fun this weekend.  We love our little family.  We have SO, SO many things to be ThAnKFuL for and I am grateful that we all recognize that.

  

Burnt pie, the food, the family